How to easily edit PDFs on a desktop, mobile, or tablet

How to edit PDFs on desktop

Editing PDFs used to be complex, but modern tools have transformed the process. Dropbox and Adobe streamline workflows, making it easier to modify text, insert images, or rearrange pages without switching between applications. Follow these steps to edit PDFs using Dropbox and Adobe on your Mac or Windows PC:

Edit PDF files with Adobe Acrobat and Dropbox

 

1. Connect Dropbox to Adobe Acrobat.

• Download and install Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
• In Acrobat, navigate to Home > Add Account, and select Dropbox.
• Sign in to your Dropbox account and grant access.

2. Start editing your PDF.

• Open the Dropbox folder in the left-hand pane of Acrobat.
• Select your PDF and choose Edit PDF from the Tools panel.

3. Modify content.

• Add or edit the text using the pen-and-paper icon.
• Insert, move, or resize images.
• Rearrange or delete pages using the Organize Pages tool.

4. Save your changes.

• All updates are automatically saved to Dropbox, ensuring seamless file management.

With this integration, you can manage your PDF edits and cloud storage in one place, saving time and effort.

Edit PDF files on Mac or Windows with Dropbox

If you’re working on a Mac or Windows PC and only need to make a few edits to a PDF before sending it to a client or colleague, you can do this when previewing a file on dropbox.com. 

To edit a PDF in Dropbox, make sure your file is smaller than 111 MB and not password protected. Here’s how you can edit a PDF file directly in your Dropbox account:

1. Sign in to dropbox.com.
2. Choose the PDF file you want to edit.
3. With the PDF open, go to Edit above the file preview.
4. Experiment with the tools to start editing your PDF.
   1. If you need to add more pages to your file, click Insert page and follow the prompts to insert a PDF from your Dropbox account. All of your pages will appear in a list as thumbnails in the left sidebar of your window.
   2. To change the order of your PDF pages, select a page you’d like to move in the left sidebar and drag it to a new position.
   3. To delete a page, click the thumbnail of the page you’d like to delete in the left sidebar then select Delete page.
   4. To rotate a page, click the thumbnail of the page you’d want to rotate in the left sidebar and choose Rotate right or Rotate left.
   5. If your PDF is an interactive form, click a fillable field and type in the text box that appears to fill in the form.
      1. Note: Only interactive PDF forms with fillable fields can be filled out in Dropbox.
5. When you’re happy with your edits, click Done.
6. Don’t forget to save your changes.
   1. Select Save a copy to save your PDF as a new file in your Dropbox account. If other users have access to the original PDF, they won’t see the changes.
   2. Select Replace original if you want to completely replace the original PDF in your Dropbox account with the edited version. Every user who had access to the original version will see the changes.
      1. Note: You can select this option if you are the file owner or have been given edit access by the file owner.

How to edit PDFs on mobile or tablet

Sometimes you need to edit PDFs on the go. The Dropbox integration with Adobe Acrobat makes it easy to edit PDF files on iOS, iPadOS, and Android devices.

Edit PDF files on Android, iPhones, and iPads with Adobe Acrobat

1. Download and install the latest versions of the Dropbox and Acrobat Reader apps from your device’s app store.
2. Sign in to your Dropbox account in the app, then open the PDF file you want to edit.
3. Click the Edit icon (a pen and a sheet of paper).
4. This will take you to the Adobe Acrobat app, and you’ll be prompted to authorize that Adobe Acrobat can access your Dropbox account.
5. Your PDF file will then open in the Adobe Acrobat app, where you can start editing.
   1. To reorganize the order of the pages in your PDF file, tap the blue Page icon in the upper left corner of your screen to open the Tools pane. Select Organize Pages, then tap, hold, and drag a page thumbnail to move it to a new position.
   2. You can also rotate or delete selected pages in the Organize Pages feature.
   3. To edit the text in your PDF, tap Edit PDF in the Tools pane. This will highlight all editable text in your file. Tap and hold the textbox you want to edit and choose Edit from the pop-up menu that appears. As you type in new text, the existing text will reflow in response. To change the size of the textbox, tap the box and drag the sides.
      1. To move a textbox, choose Move from the pop-up menu and drag the box to the desired position on the page.
   4. You can also change the text font, size, style, and color in Edit PDF. Tap and hold the textbox you want to edit and choose Select or Select All from the pop-up menu that appears. A selection strip will appear above the keyboard.
6. Once you have finished editing your PDF, tap the back arrow to save the file. This will take you back to your Dropbox account, where you’ll find the updated file.